Clutch Masters Internal Release Bearing Group Buy

Another vote for this thing being a piece of shit. Most of clutch fluid under truck with under 1900 miles. Have to try to get it around the block and into my garage.

Haven't tried to contact them and probably not gonna bother with the way they seem to handle things.

 

Man this seemed like such a win for us. Now I feel I've just thrown away $500 and I haven't installed mine yet...thinking about not installing it. Someone needs to be held accountable for this pos, clutchmaster needs to grow a pair IMHO and resolve the issues.

 

I’m up to 4K on mine so far... hearing these stories has me worried

 

I'm always weary when I hear about lack of customer service....or basically much of any communication, but I am looking for some more response on how this product has held up overall. In no way am I dismissing the failures I have seen listed here.
It doesn't sound like there is a huge consensus on the alternatives as well. It seems to me that if this is a known issue with the Toyota system, there would be more aftermarket solutions available. Are these the only two out there currently?
If someone wants to push me off this thread and on to any other related threads, I'm up for that as well.
Thanks to everyone for feedback, it's really the only way we can gauge products and companies support for their products.
Cheers!

 

my truck is at 100k. I just ordered a new clutch and am thinking about addressing the throw out bearing wear issue. Was originally super stoked on finding the clutch master kit, but after reading some reviews, it seems that the long term durability isn't any better than the stock fork seems to be. Seems most people report increased shift feel, and better drive-abilty, but the long term durability still seems questionable. Anyone mind weighing in before I potentially pull the trigger.

 

I don't know if cold may have been a factor but I'm not impressed with it only lasting through the break in period of my clutch. And it's a big enough job that I'm not inclined to ever give it another chance. If you can do it yourself then it's time and effort to fix and if you have to pay to get it installed then it's the $$$ for shop time.

I'm glad mine shit the bed outside my house instead of leaving me and my five year old boy stranded and paying to get it towed.

 

I stumbled upon this thread of a guy piecing together components and using a tilton hydraulic clutch.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/6mt-throwout-bearing-and-clutch-system-shenanigans.698464/
I like the idea of the hydraulic clutch over the fork and I am about to have my whole drivetrain apart to do regearing lockers and clutch, so It kind of seems like a might as well, because hopefully the truck will not have to get taken apart like that for another 100k. The guy seems to have gotten tilton to manufacture a kit for the 2nd gen tacoma 6 speeds. Might try and contact tilton to see if I could get his kit replicated. The problem seems to lie with the throw out bearing used on the clutch master kit being big enough, and barely touching the pressure plate.

 

The hydro bearing felt great while it worked. I don't like having to take apart the whole trans to fix it when it shouldn't have died that fast.

I believe tilton has been making these for a lot longer and them and Macleod racing seem to be regarded as the best for hydro throwouts.

@billthecat2 apparently had to do some simple modding to get his mounted and/or spaced right as they don't have an off the shelf tacoma kit yet. And he did it on a third gen transmission he installed.

PM him with questions, he's an awesome dude and he'll probably get you on the right track.

 

Yup, that's brake fluid.



Leaking from the seal.

 

Is it leaking through the rubber gasket this kit comes with?

 

Yup, through the bearing piston seal. It's a proper lip seal and not an O-ring at least.

All fittings were tight and leak free.

 

Wonder if that lip seal could be replaced with another one of better quality and fitment? One that is more wide @TodayWasTHeDaY

I’m just brainstorming cause I got a stage 3 clutch and light flywheel ready to go with this clutch master throwout bearing.

And I’m hesitating to do this now. Which sucks cause my current clutch is slipping

 

It's a possibility I guess but it'll be a pain in the ass if it the seal doesn't hold.

I'm kind of thinking that the Canadian winter didn't help things either. Pulling the trans is enough of a job that I don't want to gamble on the thing pissing it's juice out again in such a short time frame and I don't trust it. Just glad I wasn't stranded and needing a tow.

 

I guess i will just keep my squeaker for now, lol.

 

For myself I'll just say if one was to install it I would:

A) if installing yourself be prepared to do the job again. Maybe you'll be lucky, maybe not.

B) if taking to a shop to be installed make sure you always have the money available to pay someone to repair/replace it. Or have a backup vehicle.

 

I’ve had mine in for almost 20k miles so far. I trusted mine enough to drive it to Florida for thanksgiving. Perhaps I got lucky with the one I have.

 

Thought I would share my experience with the Throw Out Bearing squeal on this forum.

I have a 2007 4.0 6 Speed Tacoma.

I got a shop to replace my OEM clutch with a LUK clutch, after a couple days of driving I noticed a metallic chirp sound any time I engaged or disengaged the clutch. Shortly after I noticed a squealing sound coming from around the bell housing area.

When I went back to the shop who replaced the clutch, they said it could just be a faulty throw out bearing that was put in, so they once again put in a brand new thowout bearing. This only got rid of the noise temporarily, the squeal and chirp came back. I decided to look online and found many threads about this seemingly common issue with these 6 Speed transmissions.

While I spent months reading online, trying to find a solution to this problem, the noise continued to get worse and worse. The options I found to try and solve the issue were either:

- Clutch Masters Hydraulic Release Bearing
- URD Throw Out Bearing Sleeve Kit
- Toyota TSB "Fix"

After reading about people's experiences with the CM Hydraulic Release Bearing (Loss of fluid, inconsistent pedal feel)

I decided against that option because of the mentioned unreliability of the product.

I finally decided to go with a combination of the URD Throw Out Bearing Sleeve Kit and the Toyota TSB.

I had a shop install the URD Kit, while also replacing the original Slave Cylinder and Fork Support that came with my truck with the updated TSB parts.

So far (drive from the shop to my house), there has been no squeal or chirp. I will periodically post updates on whether or not my truck remains squeal and chirp free.

 

Sucks to see mixed results with this! I'm not sure where to even start anymore.

 

^ I wasn't sure which threads are most actively looked at. So I figured I'd post to multiple.

I know both the Sleeve kit and TSB are old news, however in my searching, I didn't see many posts where people have done a combination of the fixes. It was either one or the other, with mixed results.

 

Installed HydroTOB myself. Zero issues.

HydroTOB came out in 2019.
URD came out 2011.

I guess some people prefer to use old outdated designs. To each their own.